Movie Review!

What to Expect When You're Expecting

(Warning: This is a cultural & statistical critique of the portrayal of pregnancy and birth, not a movie critic's opinion about the plot, narrative, actors, etc, and does contain movie spoilers!)

I originally had no intent of seeing this movie. I mean honestly, how many cultural stereo-types of pregnancy and birth can one birth researcher handle in a lifetime? But, as I feel it's integral to my research to keep abreast of these kinds of things, I went anyway.

Essentially, the film chronicles the journey to parenthood for 5 couples (though one 'couple' is a one-night stand turned pregnancy). It covers many aspects of motherhood, including infertility & adoption, early pregnancy loss, pre-term labor, and just about every pregnancy symptom one could imagine. While I found very little humor in the film, I could relate to a few moments, and was presently surprised to not be as upset as I thought I might be upon leaving the theater.

First, I must say I am not a fan of the book of the same name, which was prominently displayed several times in the movie. I, and many others, feel that the book takes too much power away from women - creating their obstetricians as the ultimate authorities with whom they should consult at every twist and turn. Additionally, while the information in the book can be helpful to an expectant mother, the constant focus on everything that COULD go wrong sets up a scenario of constant worry, where making an informed decision to turn down a prenatal test or diagnostic becomes almost impossible. I mean, WHAT IF???

PROS

I'll start my movie critique with a few positive things about the film that impressed me. First, there was a straight conversation between one of the couples about circumcision. The father - on the side of tradition, and wanting his son to be like him - says it's a no-brainer, while the mother presents the arguments against it, citing no medical necessity, loss of sensitivity in the penis, and possible complications. Just the fact that this was presented in the movie was surprising to me, and I was glad to see that the debate has made it that far into the mainstream.

Another pro was the fact that of the three women who gave birth in the film, only one chose to have an epidural. A recent National Vital Statistics Report (1) reported national epidural use at about 61%, with the highest state rate in South Carolina at 75.9%, and the lowest at 42.5% in California. In Georgia, where the births took place, the rate is 59.9% - meaning two of the three women should have portrayed as having epidural anesthesia.

Some of the emotional portrayals in the film were quite honest and raw - the love a mother feels holding a baby for the first time, the fear & doubt that a first time mother can feel before giving birth, the hormonal ups and downs, and the joys of morning sickness, sore breasts, swollen ankles, and exhaustion. Being 10 weeks pregnant myself, experiencing many of these first had right now, I could relate.

CONS

Unfortunately, my list of cons is a lot longer.

Dads: Let's start with the dads. While the whole concept of the "Dude's Club" is wonderful - dads getting together on Saturday mornings for a walk with the babies, giving mom a little needed rest, enjoying the male bonding - the conversations are abhorrent. One of the first comments from one of the dad's is "This is where happiness comes to die." Really guys? Parenthood is THAT bad? There are several scenes in which the dads discuss the horrors of parenting, including of course the absolutely terrifying moment when your wife is giving birth (described more like a horror movie than the miracle that birth is). There is an attempt later in the movie to dismiss the frustration, when Chris Rock's character talks about how wonderful being a dad is, how he wouldn't trade it for anything, etc.  Unfortunately, it feels totally nongenuine and forced, too little too late. few men would willingly choose fatherhood if this was their impression of what it was.


Breastfeeding: There is one mention of breastfeeding among the pregnant mothers - Cameron Diaz's character, while collecting literature in her OB's office, says, "Breastfeeding! We'll need to know about that!" Yes ladies, you will. But you will find no other real mention of the subject in this film. The crazy thing is, one of the moms owns a store called "The Breast Place," which we are supposed to believe is a lactation support shop. Not once, in any shot of the store, do we see a nursing bra, breast pump, or lactation support book. If one were to draw a conclusion based on this store, all one needs for nursing support is a whole lot of stuffed animals and plastic toys. And of course, a copy of What to Expect When You Are Expecting. The store's owner has written a board book for toddlers about nursing, which we see in the beginning, and there is a shot where a few mothers are nursing their babies at the reading of this book. And that's it folks. Breastfeeding conversation: Over.


Portrayals of Pregnancy & Pregnancy Issues: One couple in the film is adopting due to her infertility. For about 90 seconds we get to hear about the frustrations, sadness, and anger that Jennifer Lopez's character feels about these issues. Another couple loses their baby at what seems to be the 12 week point. Again, we get about 90 seconds of the honest emotional havoc of pregnancy loss. In both cases, the issues are presented and almost - but not quite - dismissed. Having suffered the loss of a pregnancy in 1998, I know that I would have had a lot more to say than Anna Kedrick's character did. We also follow two characters who seem to be the caricatures of pregnancy - one with difficulties, one without. While Elizabeth Banks suffers every pregnancy malady - hemorrhoids, acne, morning sickness, fatigue, loss of bladder control to name a few - Brooklyn Decker sails through with nothing more than a bump to manage. Banks; then delivers a monologue about how horrible pregnancy is, how much it sucks and she can't wait for it to be over and hopes she will forget the whole thing. She is later rewarded for her 'honesty' by a long line of customers outside her store.

Look, I have my head in a toilet at least once a day right now. None of my clothes fit, and that's only going to get worse. I can't climb a set up stairs without getting winded. This is my 4th baby, and I've dealt with most of the common pregnancy issues. and you know what? Not for a minute did I ever HATE being pregnant. It doesn't suck. Throwing up sucks, sure. Hemorrhoids suck. Waking up to pee 10 times a night sucks. But pregnancy? It's a freaking miracle, folks. If what it takes for me to CREATE ANOTHER HUMAN BEING is throwing up daily for 8 weeks, sign me up. It felt like what the film-makers were trying to do was present some of the reality of pregnancy - we don't all glow, meditate serenely, and give birth effortlessly - but it doesn't suck. It's a blessing and an honor. Period.

The Birth Scenes: Of course the movie ends with a mad rush to the hospital. By all three pregnant women. At the same time. To the same hospital. That's believable, right? All three give birth in the hospital with OB's. All three are shown with IV's in their arms; one is shown with a fetal monitor on her belly; one screams at her husband until an epidural is administered (the moment he becomes her savior); none leave their beds once they enter the hospital; both vaginal births are shown on their backs pushing; and the mom who had no pregnancy difficulties literally sneezes out one of her twins. In the end, we have two 'natural' hospital deliveries, and one cesarean. The c-section is interesting, in that one could ask if the epidural led to the surgery (which led to post-op bleeding, and a touching moment of a worried dad); of course most people won't ask - we are supposed to be happy that the doctors saved her. There is a whole lot of screaming in these last scenes - both screaming at dads and screaming in pain, and not a nurse or midwife around encouraging turning those screams into deep moans that help rather than increase tension. Honestly, it's just a typical portrayal of women screeching in pain, because, you know, that's the only way labor can go. Brooklyn Decker doesn't experience pain at all - but her character has been so caricatured that no reasonable women would see this film and think that painless birth could be real.

In short, the film was predictable with a few nice surprises. Would I recommend it? Definitely not to anyone who actually wanted to know what to expect when they were expecting. And certainly not to a hesitant dad, even though all of the dads fall in love with the children (biological and adopted). And honestly, it wasn't funny enough to recommend just for comedic value. I'm just hoping they don't do a "What to Expect the First Year" sequel - somehow I doubt we would see a sling-wearing, co-sleeping, extended breastfeeder among the bunch. And THAT would get my blood boiling...



1. Osterman, M.J.K & Martin, J.A. (2011). National Vital Statistics Report: Epidural and Spinal Anesthesia Use During Labor: 27-state Reporting Area, 2008. Volume 59, Number 5.